Signwave
Encyclopedia
Signwave is a small independent company, based in London
, England
specialising in software production, but is heavily influenced by the arts
. Despite releasing some conventional shareware
and desktop applications
, Signwave have also received attention and awards from arts organisations such as Transmediale
and Ars Electronica
for their software artworks
.
Typically their software challenges the traditional notions of functionality and efficiency as key selling points of proprietary software
, instead focussing on the role of the author
/artist
as a creative role. When considering the role of the programmer
in the production of software, their products can be seen in a new light: that of programming as a creative expression, and of proprietary software as an artefact or artwork
. This contentious issue is hotly debated, with people on both the 'arts' as well as the 'technology' sides of the argument denying the right of artist
to the programmer
.
To date, Signwave have released two major software artworks, Autoshop (a parody of Adobe Photoshop
), and Auto-Illustrator (a similar but more advanced parody of Adobe Illustrator
), both artworks being purchasable online through the distribution of serial number
s. This deliberate conflation of polemic extremes is typical of Signwave's practice, forcing a fresh consideration of the traditional values of both commerce
and art
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
specialising in software production, but is heavily influenced by the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
. Despite releasing some conventional shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
and desktop applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
, Signwave have also received attention and awards from arts organisations such as Transmediale
Transmediale
transmediale is an annual festival for media art and digital culture taking place for one week in February in Berlin, Germany. The festival engages in reflective, aesthetic and speculative positions in between art, technology and culture...
and Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
for their software artworks
Software art
Software art refers to works of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks. As an artistic discipline software art has attained growing attention since the...
.
Typically their software challenges the traditional notions of functionality and efficiency as key selling points of proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
, instead focussing on the role of the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
/artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
as a creative role. When considering the role of the programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
in the production of software, their products can be seen in a new light: that of programming as a creative expression, and of proprietary software as an artefact or artwork
Work of art
A work of art, artwork, art piece, or art object is an aesthetic item or artistic creation.The term "a work of art" can apply to:*an example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture*a fine work of architecture or landscape design...
. This contentious issue is hotly debated, with people on both the 'arts' as well as the 'technology' sides of the argument denying the right of artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
to the programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
.
To date, Signwave have released two major software artworks, Autoshop (a parody of Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
), and Auto-Illustrator (a similar but more advanced parody of Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
), both artworks being purchasable online through the distribution of serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...
s. This deliberate conflation of polemic extremes is typical of Signwave's practice, forcing a fresh consideration of the traditional values of both commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.